Veiled Intentions
by Dream Slayer 066
Summary: the Kumogakure village is having wedding problems! who will help them? rated M for unknown resons that will soon show up. being revised.
1. 1st wedding

Veiled Intentions

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot!

1. Village of Clouds

A young girl stood at the entrance hall and greeted each of the wedding guests as they came into the church. If she were lucky, she would just sit back and enjoy the party.

Too bad there was an annoying buzz in the back of her head that said all hell can break loose today before the happy couple said I do.

While she directed the guests to sign the registry- a duty that was given to her by the bride- she continued to watch for problems. A man walked up to her, Tivon, brother of the bride. "So, see anyone worthy of your love?"

"Very funny." She replied.

"Well, I got to watch for any party crashers." Tivon smiled and went on his way.

An odd sound caught her attention. The sound of scrapping metal. She whipped her head to the other side of the narthex where the lanky photographer was. She made a mental note to watch him. Her friends seemed to be worried about something but wouldn't tell her. Not being in the same rank, she had no notion why every one was so uptight. _Tokubetsu Jonin_, she thought as she smoothed her black pants. Her black and white top hung cloak-like. As she touched her red hair she thought of killing Mirani. The honey citizen had bleached crescents into the girl's hair while she slept, changing her appearance.

Something rubbed against her leg; she looked down to find a black puppy. "Gavran! Come back here you!" Kosan yelled. She giggled and scooped the dog up, ignoring the hairs that clung to her shirt.

"Gavran, you're such a cute doggie!" she laughed as he licked her cheek.

Kosan ran up to her panting. "Sorry, he said he'd found a cute girl." He braced his hands on his knees and glared at his dog.

"Aw, Gavran, I'm very flattered." She pats his head then gave the puppy back to the ninja. Gavran barked and Kosan's head snapped to the door. A young man had appeared and stepped toward them. Well, walking was a tad too polite. He stalked, smooth and slow, toward the two teenagers as they conversed.

Here was a guy who fit her taste. Dark silver hair. Very long and held loose by a clasp. He had no pupils, just blackness of the eyes. Scary. The girl had been around ninjas all her life; she knew trouble when it came.

This guy was lethal.

Pulling in a hard breath to steady herself, she caught a scent of his cologne. Something manly and musky. It was better for a long night of sex than a wedding.

Or maybe it was just her imagination working overtime.

Whoa.

An imagination with serious bad timing. She brushed her arm against his. The soft contact garnered her another glance. Not a dismissive one either. There was interest in the depths of his black eyes. Too bad she couldn't make out exactly what kind of interest it was.

She smiled, letting her nervousness show. But then, not showing true feelings would make her look like an idiot. As she offered her hand in greeting, she introduced herself. He shook her hand.

Eventually.

"Would you please give me your invitation?" the male looked at her then placed a hand in his jacket. Kosan tensed as he took out an invite and presented it to her. She frowned looking at it. "Excuse me, but your name isn't on here." He stared at her then pointed to the front. His name was there. "Oh, sorry Mr. Wakasa. Would you like to sign the guest registry?"

"No." Not too surprising.

"Oh, okay." She tried a different angle. "It's a keepsake for the bride and groom so they know who attended. May I sign it for you if you give me your first name?"

He looked at her then at the book. "Wakasa Raz."

There was a touch of Rock dialect in his voice. An effortless, sliding that matched his attitude.

Kosan listened as the nin spoke with the girl. He needed to know what this Wakasa was doing here. Was he the killer? He pushed the girl into the newcomer slightly, making her stumble and the nin to catch her. As he pulled her up, Kosan caught a glimpse of several kunai and shurikan.

Kosan had anticipated weapons, of course. However, reality caused him to tense up. He pushed the panic aside and got to work. He needed him away from the guests and his friend before he took this Raz down. "Are you alright?" he asked the girl. She nodded and blushed while looking up into Raz's eyes. "Maybe you should sit down." He suggested leading both the girl and Wakasa to a place where he could fight unaffected. The room was for raincoats and the like. Easy for a close battle.

Blocking the doorway so he couldn't leave, Kosan grabbed the girl and pulled his kunai. "Here's how this works," he instructed. "Keep your hands where I can see them and explain why you brought weapons to a wedding."

The Wakasa shrugged his shoulder casually. "I carry my weapons with me everywhere. I guess you do the same?"

Kosan growled with annoyance. Raz wasn't even remotely concerned. Shame Kosan didn't feel the same. His throat was dry and he kept a firm grip on his kunai while releasing his friend. "Yes, but for me, it's part of my job. I'm Kosan, shinobi of Thunder, and this is what we call stop and frisk."

Raz paused. Said one word of profanity under his breath. One rather crude four-letter word. He tipped his eyes to the ceiling as if seeking divine intervention.

Or something.

"Know what I think?" he asked.

"Not particularly. But I want you to remove your kunais slowly and carefully from the holster and place them on the floor. Notice those words. _Slowly. Carefully. Floor._ Those are major conditions here, and your going to do that while using only two fingers. Make any sudden moves, and I'll take you down the hard way."

He looked straight into Kosan's eye. "That wasn't what I was thinking." He disarmed himself, just as Kosan instructed. Slowly, carefully, and he placed his kunai directly between them.

"Oh, yeah?" Kosan motioned to the girl.

The girl caught his shoulder and turned him around. She positioned his hands, palms flat, against the wall, and pushed his legs apart. "What exactly where you thinking?" she asked quietly, while searching for other weapons.

The man certainly was solid. And built. Her fingers skimmed over lots of hard muscles. Odd. She'd never noticed anything like this before. Kosan watched as she blushed while touching his chest and the Wakasa close his eyes and shudder. He knew she never did this while helping him apprehend a dangerous Nin. Maybe it was his cologne.

"I think you'll regret doing this," Raz let her know.

"I doubt it." When he looked down at her she hurriedly added, "Especially since it might save lives. That is why were doing this, right?" Kosan nodded.

She located his wallet in his jacket pocket. Except when Kosan looked at it, he realized it wasn't a wallet. That caused his stomach to tighten into a hard knot. It also caused Kosan to use a little profanity of his own. The girl looked confused as she finished searching Raz. Kosan flipped open the passport and read the name out loud.

"Wakasa Raz."

"Captain Wakasa Raz," he clarified. And with that he turned to the girl. "Sent by the fifth Mizukage." Kosan's breath landed somewhere near that knot in his stomach.

Kosan shook his head. This had to be fake. Except it wasn't. "Impossible. I've worked with ANBU. I've never seen nor heard of you."

"Because I'm from Rock." He enunciated each word as if Kosan was mental.

Shoot. That bit of info cleared the buzz that had been going on inside the girl's head. She wasn't sure where this was leading, but she didn't like the final decision.

Raz picked up his kunai and reholstered it. Somehow, he managed to look cocky even doing that little chore. No hurried moves. No display of emotion.

"Well, Kosan, I'd say we have a problem. A problem with you being here because this isn't your mission. Why am I so certain of that?" he pointed to himself. "Because it's mine."

The girl didn't think this could be more embarrassing- or frustrating- but she was wrong.

"Yours?" she asked.

"Mine." The ANBU pushed her and Kosan out the doorway and turned to leave, delivering the rest of his news. "Oh, by the way, that means I'm your boss."


	2. Escape

Well, it wasn't exactly the smooth start Raz wanted for this mission. While undercover he'd been quite easily detained- by a Chuunin and his friend, no less. And then been felt up by that friend.

He was sorry to say the feeling had been more enjoyable than it should have been.

Far more.

"The Mizukage assigned you to this mission?" Kosan asked, following him.

Since he'd already made that perfectly clear, and since he detected resentment in Kosan's voice, he surmised that he'd heard him correctly but wasn't in agreement with the Mizukage's decision.

Raz stopped at the edge of the narthex and pressed the transmitter for communication beside his ear. "Did anyone come in between the last three minutes?" he asked his team members who were positioned all over the place.

"No."

So they'd been lucky. Kosan's stunt hadn't allowed the killer to walk in unchallenged. Of course, if the killer followed the method of operation he'd used, he or she wouldn't burst into the church until the I do's had been said. There'd be a frenzy of kunai being thrown from a person who wouldn't actually enter the sanctuary but would stay in the narthex and make an easy getaway. Just like the last victims, Koshi, Lolita and Shiroi, Tsunami.

Raz clicked off the transmitter and glanced back at both shinobi. The female was staring at him as if he were a member of the fungus family.

Too bad he couldn't say the same for her.

She was attractive. Damn attractive. Not like a beauty queen either, but in a strong, athletic, kick-butt sort of way. The girl-next-door is a fighter.

The type he found attractive.

No amount of denial made his body think other wise. Fortunately, the parts of his body that noticed her looks didn't have a say in the decisions he made.

"That's not fair." Kosan jammed his kunai back into his pocket. "After all, Mirani wished for us to be here, we're concerned friends. Not to mention I asked for this mission."

"You were considered," Raz informed him. "But the considering part is finished now, and I'm the investigator. End of discussion."

There was nothing calm about his friend's response. He saw some fire dance through ultra clear, cool eyes. He'd obviously stepped on her toes, which were encased very nicely in a pair of sex-against-the-wall sandals.

Something else about her he truly wished he hadn't noticed.

Raz quickly pushed that, her physical attributes and the remnants of the frisking, aside. What was wrong with him today? Even if he'd been looking to spice up his love life, he darn sure wouldn't have been looking in her direction.

"I knew the people who where killed last week," Kosan added.

As if that would help his cause.

"Shiroi and Tsunami," Raz supplied. "You were friends with both and maintained social contact with them. You probably would have attended the wedding if you weren't on assignment. Your relationship with the victims, however, doesn't give you the priority in this mission. In fact, it does just the opposite. I don't care to work with a chunnin who comes into a mission with a personal chip of their shoulder."

Kosan clenched his teeth before speaking. "There's no personal chip, _Captain_. Just a desire to bring a killer to justice."

"Good. Then we're in agreement. I have that same desire, but that doesn't mean I'll allow you to be a part of this mission." But the moment the words were spoken, Raz remembered a vital point that had come to mind. "By the way, why did you think the killer would strike here?"

Kosan motioned to his companion. The fire in her eyes had dwindled. She pulled her shoulders back, as if to defend her from him and meet his eyes.

"Because the bride and groom met through the jonin exam. The same exam that Koshi and Lolita met at." She explained. "They also have the same florist. We thought of the connection and spoke to Mirani and Haku. They said we could watch for trouble."

"You told them the connection?"

"No. Of course not. There's only been one killing, and we have no proof that there'll be another one. We didn't want to have them worry when this should be the best day of their lives."

So they did their research. He liked that. But this wasn't a time for bonus points. "The florist and the exam could be a coincidence. There are other possible angles."

"Yes, at least one of the couples was clan bred, so it could be a stereotype. Or maybe their deaths are related to some other aspect of their personal lives." She paused. "Yet I don't believe that, and apparently neither do you, or you wouldn't have come here today."

Raz fought back the urge to smile. Under different circumstances, he might have enjoyed this verbal sparring, but these weren't different circumstances. Kosan would be in his way, because despite his denial, this was a personal matter. In his experience, when it got personal, people made mistakes. That wouldn't happen while he was in charge.

"I came here to check on one particular theory. _One _of several," he assured her. Raz checked the entryway. No new guests, and the others have moved into the church. He could hear the music start to play, an indication that the bride and groom were about to make their entrance.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be their last.

Kosan huffed. "I know those theories as well as you-"

"Shinobi male is approaching the church," one of the teammates said through Raz's communicator.

That, and the sound of hurried footsteps, interrupted whatever else he was about to say. Frantic footsteps that sent all of them reaching for their kunais. In the same motion, the girl stepped into the hallway behind the two men. However, the threat they prepared for didn't materialize.

Judging from the way she relaxed, the teen that came into Raz's sight was of Cloud. His kunai were drawn, but he held them discretely at his side so it wouldn't be easily seen.

"Kosan, what is going on?" he demanded.

Because Raz was standing front-to-back with the girl, he felt her muscles relax.

"False alarm," she let him know. Once again, Kosan put away his kunai. "This is Wakasa Raz. ANBU. This is Kosan's teammate, Hozumi."

Unlike the girl, Hozumi didn't relax. Just the opposite. It was obvious he had issues, and Raz didn't have to guess who or what those issues were.

"Wakasa," Hozumi repeated in the same tone that he no doubt reserved for profanity. "According to the mill, you're the one who broke my relationship with Tamaqua. And kept me from completing my jounin exam."

"He did what!" Kosan asked. Eyes glaring, he stepped in front of Raz and pinned his gaze to him.

This obviously wasn't the way to win friends and influence people. But that didn't matter. Raz had a job to do, and he'd do it, with or without the team's approval.

"Since it appears you can't answer Kosan's questions," Raz said to Hozumi, "I'll leave you to it to see what's happening in the church. I'd prefer that people didn't die while we're standing around talking."

It was a good exit line. The only thing missing was, well, the good exit. The girl didn't get out of his way so he could leave, and the hallway was too narrow to go around her. He really didn't want to play bump and grind just so he could get past her.

Really.

Even if there were various parts of his body that said it would be fun.

Her hands went to her hips. "I don't know what your agenda is-"

"To do my job," Raz insisted.

That earned him a scowl. "My friends are good shinobi. Don't judge either of them- they want to protect their friends. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

Since it was clear this argument wouldn't be resolved in the next couple of minutes, Raz placed his kunai away, caught her shoulders, and moved her out of his way. "I'll see you three in the Raikage's office when I'm finished here."

Raz turned to leave. But he didn't manage that exit. A few steps were as far as he got. The sound stopped him in his tracks. Because it was the last thing he wanted to hear. A sound he'd anticipated and dreaded.

A scream blasted through the church.

Kosan's POV—

The emotion of his argument with Raz evaporated instantly, and in its place Kosan felt the barrage of instinct and adrenaline.

_Shit_. The killer had attacked after all, and he hadn't been able to stop it. He prayed the kunai missed its target and everyone was safe.

"The attack came from outside," his female friend offered, taking the words out of the boy's mouth.

"The west side of the building, maybe. Or the rear." Raz confirmed. "Hozumi, secure the front doors, and just in case no one's done it, call for back up. Kosan, …girl, come with me."

Raz didn't hesitate. Neither did Hozumi or Kosan. Hozumi hurried to the front door, kicking it shut and locking it. He kept his weapon ready, secured a spot near one of the sidelight windows and then pulled out his communicator. Raz went in the direction of the sanctuary, the girl and Kosan followed.

"Get down!" Raz yelled to the guests.

Most had already done just that, squeezing themselves underneath the pews. There were raw screams. Chaos. The smell of fear. And in the middle of that, Kosan saw the groom trying to protect the others between the archway and the altar of pale peach roses.

No visible evidence of blood. They seemed unharmed.

For now.

"There's and auxiliary building out there. Two story, brown brick," the girl relayed to Raz. "Our murderer should be using it as a catbird seat."

He nodded and without taking his attention off the partially shot-out stained glass window, he whispered over his shoulder to her. "You're not a chuunin are you?" when she shook her head, Raz cursed. "Do you know if there are any ninja besides Kosan around here?"

"I wish. But no. We're on our own until backup arrives." Which wouldn't be for minutes. Long critical minutes.

"Good," Raz responded. "Cause I have an ANBU team out there. Ones who are _officially _on this mission, and I don't want any of your friends getting in the crossfire."

Kosan didn't appreciate the sarcasm but welcomed all the help they could get. Maybe the ANBU could eliminate the killer before anyone got seriously injured.

But at that moment that seemed a lot to hope for. The damage had been done. Even if they stopped the shinobi here and now, these people would remember this for the rest of their lives. Kosan blamed himself for that. He'd been in a position to stop this and he failed.

A fire-fused kunai and shurikan whizzed by, quickly followed by another. And another. Two of the three went through a window on the right side of the church and tore chunks of glass from the frame. No doubt that's what the killer intended to do. Now he or she had a direct line of sight into the church.

Screaming her head off, Mirani was pushed by Haku and the minister to the other side of the altar. It wouldn't give them shelter for long. A big shurikan could rip through the wood.

Raz pulled the girl along, keeping her on his inside, preventing an injury to the civilian. "I'll make my way over there," Raz pointed to a set of ornate doors, which were only a couple of yards away from the windows. "I'll return the kunais to him."

Yes. Or the killer could get him first. There was always that possibility.

"I can help," she said as she took some shurikan from Kosan's pack. "There isn't any guests near those windows buy the doors. I can knock out the glass and distract him. Don't worry- I'll watch out for your teammates."

Raz would have disagreed with her idea of help if a more kunai came through the building.

Heavy, thick blasts.

Nonstop this time.

Raz jumped on the girl as many shurikan passed by her hair. Her back hit the concrete floor, he pulled her until they were against the wall right below the broken window.

Kosan knew that this was no random act of violence. Just like Shirio's wedding, the kunai were thrown repeatedly at the couple trying to hit them as many times as they could.

Mirani screamed again. Maybe in pain. Maybe just from fear, Kosan hoped it was from fear.

Raz took off as soon as the girl had said she was all right. Fast and low. He felt a rising anger in his heart when the attack was turned to the girl. She wasn't involved, just a loyal friend of the bride. Or was she? Raz pondered that before realizing the shurikens were getting larger and coming slower. He reached the doors and pressed his back to the wall. Looking up, he scanned the windows as best he could.

No one in sight.

Yet he had to be there. Somewhere. Because he was still attacking.

While still low on the floor, Raz reached up and turned the brass handle on the door. He opened it a fraction and looked out. Kosan waited for a signal so he could return the kunai to the killer.

And just like that, the attack stopped.

Kosan felt another surge of adrenaline slam through him. A bad-feeling surge. If the shinobi wasn't attacking, he was making his getaway.

That couldn't happen.

Because Kosan knew that the attacks would continue unless someone stopped him.

It was a risk, but Kosan moved closer to a window so he could check the grounds. Raz did the same to the door. He stood, took position and aimed.

"Think," Kosan told himself. If he were a killer, what would be his escape plan? Not the front grounds, too visible. Not the side either since it bumped right against a fairly busy street.

No.

He'd go out the rear of the building and slip into the myriad of old shops and businesses that were crammed into this particular part of the downtown area.

Raz noticed that Kosan was frowning. Muttering under his breath, he peered out. It appeared they both had the same conclusion. The killer was getting away.

"Stay put." Raz ordered. It was a logical order.

Kosan needed to stay there to protect the guests. Still, part of him wanted to go after the killer.

"Hold your position," Hozumi called out from the archway that lead to into the church. Kosan glanced at him and noticed his communication pressed against his ear. "The ANBU squad is in pursuit of a black figure who is fleeing the area."

Kosan released the breath he didn't know he was holding. He glanced at Raz, but he didn't seem eager to let his guard drop. So they did the only thing they knew. Sit and wait.

"Is anyone hurt?" Raz called to the guests.

The response varied, most still layered in fear and panic. But from the sound, no one was actually hurt. Nothing short of a miracle. Kosan said a quick prayer of thanks and turned to find the girl moving towards them.

"Still think they're the wrong people for this assignment?" she asked him.

"Yes." No hesitation there.

The analogy of hitting her head against a brick wall came to mind. "But we were right about the psycho picking this wedding. Even in your book that has to amount for something."

He made another check of the entrance. "It doesn't count for much."

Crouching among the broken shards and the smell of scorching heat, it seemed petty to dislike this man because he was arrogant and hardheaded, but that didn't prevent her scowl. The scowl didn't lessen when Hozumi called out something else.

"It's over. The squad lost the guy in pursuit." He announced.

"It's over," some of the guests repeated. Slowly, they began to come out of hiding. Hugging each other. Crying. Most still in shock.

Kosan groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face. Hell. This wasn't over. In fact, he knew it wasn't over by a long shot.

The killer had just gotten started.


	3. understanding and rivals

Chapter 3

An: I'm soooo sorry to the people who love this story! I went to an anime convention and left my notebook with my friend! I got _the_ Kiba's autograph! I had withdrawal for 2 weeks!

I've decided to have this as one of my Men of Konoha stories. More explanations comming up as I continue. Please still R&R!

Wakasa Raz read the overview of the proposed mission that Ostadar had handed him just minutes earlier. The overview didn't read any better the second time he read it, and he didn't believe a third read would make it any more palatable.

There were a few points of contention so Raz chose the first one. "You really think the attack day before yesterday was a result of a botched training session for Gennins?"

"No." Ostadar answered. "But I'd rather have the civilians believe this than link it with the killings that happened in Red Plain a week earlier."

Raz nodded, but the two killings wouldn't remain unlinked for long. All it would take was another incident, and unfortunately another incident was probably in the planning stages. That is, if the killer hadn't already finalized his next hit. But the question was- was the killer linked to the Jonin exam or the florist?

Or neither?

The _or neither_ was the most troublesome scenario of them all. If the murders weren't connected through any of that, then maybe they had a real thrill killer or just a plain psycho on their hands.

Not that they didn't have that anyway.

But Raz preferred his psychos to keep a discernable pattern, because with hard work and luck, patterns could be found.

"The kunais taken from both scenes were of different styles." Kosan said, reading a copy of the overview. He gave a weary sigh. "So that complicates things."

"It just means our killer likes to change his styles," Raz advised. "It doesn't mean they aren't related."

There was another sigh from Kosan. This one had a _you think?_ Tinge to it.

"Arguments? Comments? Objectives?" Ostadar asked. "If so, direct them to me and not each other."

The man was a multitasker. While he tossed out those leading questions and semi-reprimands, he looked through a report, scrawled his signature on it and tossed it to the pile that was growing before he went to the next one. He also had an orange book that he glanced at from time to time. But then, no one ever accused this Jounin of being inefficient. Just the opposite. The only accusation was in the area of his favoritism.

"Concerns," Raz volunteered.

Time to move to part two. He had a lot of concerns, but the major one was the woman with the red and white hair who was sitting outside the office.

Now the question was how to voice that concern without thoroughly riling Ostadar, a man he didn't want to rile. Even under the cloud of suspicion, the man was formidable. Raz's investigation into work ethic would no doubt irritate the man enough without adding more to the mix.

"Wakasa thinks this mission is too personal for me," Kosan countered. "He believes I should step aside because I knew Shiroi."

And with that totally inaccurate observation, he looked across the desk that separated them and met the Jonin's gaze. In the next few seconds, at least a thousand words passed between them, even though neither spoke.

It was an interesting encounter to watch.

The adult stared at Kosan and lifted his eyebrow, just a fraction. That was it. No other change in his otherwise calm, authoritative expression. Yet the simple gesture caused Kosan's mouth to tighten, and his grip on the chair arm whitened his knuckles. Raz felt the temperature drop by ten degrees. The red haired girl stuck her head through the door and glared at both. It was the most effective warning he'd ever witnessed. She walked over and sat down. The thunder nin, Yokubou Kazaki walked in after her. He glanced at Raz and nodded. Raz got back on track.

"Kosan has renegade tendencies." Raz added, feeling like he was preaching to the choir. Still, a little choir preaching might go a long way to some changes in this mission proposal. "I'd prefer to work with another Anbu on this."

And Raz already had one in mind. Anbu Obis, a "gifted" spaz who'd worked on a serial killer just last year. He had experience and from all accounts, was willing.

"Bringing in another shinobi might be a problem." Ostadar extracted a manila folder from a stack and slid it Raz's way. "This will be an undercover assignment, and Yokubou already has her foot in the door."

Raz nodded and glanced at Kazaki. "Well, you do have experience with killers. I didn't know you offered to help."

"_I_ didn't," Kazaki replied coldly. "Larxene did."

Raz looked at the woman who stared blankly at him. It was then he noticed the similarities of the two Yokubou.

"You will have to explain to him, Larxene." Kazaki said.

The woman, Larxene, nodded her head and spoke. "I needed to complete one final A class mission before I can take the test for becoming an ANBU. This seemed like a mission I could do."

Kosan nodded. "Makes sense. I wondered why you pressed the kage for this mission."

"Getting back to the matter at hand, what door are you in?" Raz asked.

"At the Jonin exam that might be connected to the two killings."

Judging from the soft groan Larxene made when she sunk lower into her chair; this would not please him. From Kakashi and Kazaki's raised brows, it didn't please them either.

"I must've missed that foot-in-door part when reading the overview." Raz commented.

Kakashi pointed to the folder. "Its all in there."

Larxene turned slightly away when he opened the folder and kept her attention on her brother. The top page was a rather lengthy entrance form from the Jonin exam, and it was dated a week earlier. Just two days after Tsunami's death. And the name at the top?

Miazaki Larxene.

Raz felt a groan coming on as well. "Is this your handiwork?" he asked her.

"Yes. But no one has any idea that I'm related to Kazaki. No one. Miazaki is obviously an alias, and also our mother's name." Larxene directed the rest of her explanation to her brother. "I wanted to retake the exam anyway. I figured this was the fastest way to do it."

"But not the smartest way," Kazaki quietly let her know. "You know too much to just go in and you could've jeopardized everything."

"But I didn't." Moving to the edge of her seat, she repeated to her brother. "I can do whatever you need me to do to make this mission work."

"I'm not the one you have to convince, Larxene. The Mizukage and Riakage have agreed that Wakasa Raz should be assigned as the lead in this mission." And the Yokubou sat back and left it at that.

The proverbial ball just landed in Raz's proverbial court. Unfortunately, he knew how the next few minutes were going to play out.

_Hell_.

Larxene Yokubou had certainly put him in a hard place with her outside-the-lines attitude. Still, it'd only compound the problem if he let his personal feelings influence the most logical way to approach this: considering she'd already thrown a wrench into the scenario.

"It wouldn't be smart for me to have another shinobi at this point," Raz concluded, speaking more to himself than to the Yokubous. He glanced at the form while he finished his explanation. It figured. Larxene had listed dragon fruit as her favorite food. "If the killer's part of the exam, he or she might be suspicious of anyone registering so soon after Mirani's wedding."

"Guess that leaves you out then, huh?" Kosan all but smirked at him.

Even though it was petty, Raz liked it when people did that, especially when he could smirk right back. He calmly shuffled through the papers, extracted his own form and passed it to him.

Kosan's eyes widened as he skimmed the first page. "You filled this out the same day she did?"

Let the smirking begin. "Yes."

Kosan hissed. "Need I remind you that you just accused Larxene of jumping the kunai by going to the exam?"

"The difference is- _I_ was assigned, she wasn't." Raz held out his hands to emphasize the space. "Big difference. I'm talking huge."

The temperature went down again, and Larxene's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Which brings us up to date I believe." Ostadar interjected. Good timing, Raz thought, since Larxene looked ready to implode. "We have to act fast. There are only 9 days till the fourteenth. Nine days until a host of weddings are to take place all over thunder country. Nine days to stop a killer from striking again."

Raz was well aware of that. Those 9 days were already breathing down his neck. "I've learned the florist in question is doing the flower arrangements for 2 weddings this weekend, one Saturday, another Sunday night. But neither couple meet through the exam. In fact, I haven't been able to connect any of the upcoming marriages to an exam."

"Neither have I." Larxene pulled out her own set of notes from a folder by her chair. "And therein lies our problem. We don't know how many shinobis who took the exam are getting married so it becomes a needle in a haystack approach."

"It's the only approach we have right now." Raz fired back. "We could stake out all the weddings, but it'll eat up a lot of manpower and cause people to ask too many questions and maybe even cause panic. Plus, there are other ceremonies taking place that aren't well known. We wouldn't be able to cover those. So our best bet is to go back to the main source of connection- the Jonin exam. They now require applicants to meet for a briefing. And there's one Starsday night."

"It starts at 7:30," Larxene provided. "You don't need an invitation, we just need to be a student."

It didn't surprise Raz that she knew the details. She'd probably already picked out what she was going to wear. And she'd done all that before being officially assigned to the team.

_His team. _

He hoped like hell that she wouldn't be wearing those sexy sandals and the little black outfit. He'd have enough distractions as it was.

"Yokubou Larxene and I'll do this intro thing Tuesday night." Raz continued, making sure he sounded like the boss. Because of the mini fantasy involving her choice of fashion, he needed the reminder in the worst possible way. "We'll pretend we're old friends and that we're happy to be competing."

She nodded, "Good idea. And that'll explain a how we fight around each other."

"Well, hopefully." It might also alert the wrong person, but he'd deal with that when and if the time came. "While we're there, we'll have a good look around the place. Without breaking the law of course."

Another _you-think?_ huff from Kosan.

Raz ignored him and continued. "In the mean time, I'll keep going through the background checks I've been doing on the applicants and the Kage for this year's exam."

"I've been doing checks as well," Larxene informed him.

Raz bobbed his head, "Of course you have."

The woman had an effective kunai-sharp glare. "I'm not a dobe, I did them discretely."

Raz might have asked what she considered discrete, but Ostadar spoke first. "Sounds like you have everything under control."

Not even close.

Raz kept that sentiment to himself.

"Good." Ostadar stood and reached for the open book on his desk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new book to buy. Feel free to use this office to hash out the rest of the details."

"Wait," Larxene called out when he headed for the door. "You're both missing one key point. Yes, Wakasa and I said we'd do this, but that in it self doesn't make us in. I hate to say this, but the _Kage _decides who is in the exam. In fact, he makes a list of who is qualified for becoming Jonin. What if I'm not allowed a second test? What then? I can't just show up."

"I'd have planned to get the Raikage to intercept the normal system and have us in." Raz explained.

Larxene shook her head. "That sounds too risky. What if the other Chuunins know I already passed, and I show up ready to fight? Some one might figure out-"

"You competing isn't a problem," Ostadar assured. "It's in the scroll."

There was something about the Jonin's strange, almost self-satisfied expression that sent Raz rolling through the rest of the document. Larxene must've had the same feeling, because she leaned closer so she could see the scroll as well.

It didn't take long for Raz to find it. There it was. The list of proctors and applicants the Raikage decided should participate. He was a proctor- and Larxene was an applicant.

He felt as if someone had hit him in the solar plexus. "You already had us in?" Raz asked. But he didn't think that's what had generated the look on Ostadar's face.

"No. The two of you were accepted with out any interference." Ostadar's brow flexed. "For once, Murphy's Law worked in our favor. Let's hope our luck continues."

And with that little attack, the others left them sitting there in somewhat stunned silence.

"It had to be the fruit." Raz murmured under his breath. Raz quietly pushed a thought of her jotting down facts that she lied and the coincidence that her lies were what he liked in a girl aside and focused on the mission at hand.

"I'll see you at the exam Starsday night." He stood and tucked the scroll under his arm. "Until then, we stay away from each other and act like we don't know who we are. You might want to train so you can make it past the first round. Oh, and by the way, I insist the members on my team follow the rules. My rules," he emphasized. "If you jeopardize this mission again-"

"I won't."

"If you do, I will have your ass _and_ your hiate."

She nodded, after a contemplative moment.

Raz almost left it at that, but there was something he couldn't leave unsaid. "I hope it's occurred to you that this plan is designed to send a killer after you."

No hesitation this time. "It has."

Good. At least underneath all that sarcasm, Larxene Yokubou was smart enough to know what they were up against.

And what they were up against was a killer.

Even more, the moment they stepped into the exam, they would become the ultimate bait.


End file.
